Back to School Bonfire {Open to Everyone}

Ben was about to answer, intending to tell her that he hoped it would become a tradition, when loud bangs erupted from the fire. Students and teachers jumped or pulled their wands. Ben had his own out as well, looking around to see what had happened.  
The commotion died down after a moment, leaving no signs but a few messes and a number of tense people. As the sound of the music flooded back, the students seemed to relax and within minutes, the happy chaotic noise of the bonfire was back. Ben put his wand back in his pocket, shaking his head. 

"I think it was just someone playing a prank," he said.  "Doesn't look like anyone was hurt."  

He looked around for a culprit but didn't spot anyone who looked like they'd done anything to the fire. He did see one of his Boreas students, an older boy whose name he didn't quite remember, near the fire with a blonde girl and a woman he thought might be the school nurse, but there was no sign of anything that might have made the bangs. He turned back to Esme.

"It'll make a good story for them to tell," he said, smiling. "No one got hurt, as far as I can tell. It'll just be part of the tradition. They'll tell the story of how at the first bonfire, someone made the fire pop and scared everyone. That's how traditions work. Anything that happens can become part of them. Though hopefully we won't have an incident like that again. Hopefully most of what ends up as part of the story will be good." He didn't know if that would reassure her or not, but he meant it to be helpful.

Constance had lost all her marshmallows when the bangs erupted from the fire. She looked at her bowl sadly, then at the marshmallows that now littered the ground. Better pick them up so no squirrels or other critters try to eat them, she thought. She bent down and cleaned them up, putting them in her bowl, then headed for the refreshment table again for more.  She found a bin that had been put out for garbage and put the bowl with the soiled marshmallows in it.  As she was filling a new bowl, she spotted a boy with a stain on his shirt and a sad look on his face. She recognized him vaguely. He was probably in some of her classes but she hadn't talked to him much.  He wasn't in Roane.  She knew that...What was his name again?

"Hey," she said, deciding they could talk about names later.  She smiled at him sympathetically. "Did those bangs surprise you too? I just dumped all my food out over there." She pointed. "Do you need help cleaning up your shirt?" She didn't know if they could use magic out here, and she wasn't entirely sure about the spell--she'd only tried it a couple times--but she couldn't just let him go around with punch all over him. Poor guy.

((Tag Ryder Henry))

"I tripped on the rug, I am sort of a klutz you may say."

Lorelai smiled sympathetically at the girl and shook her head. "Those rugs are dangerous, trust me. I think the Deputy Headmaster puts them there on purpose for just that reason." She teased, laughing softly as felt around the small girl's knee. "I don't feel anything broken so that's good. I'm sure its just a sprain. I'll have this fixed in no time." Lorelai said, pulling out her wand and pointing it at her knee. "Episky." She muttered, watching as a light came from the end of her wand and engulfed Mariah's knee. "Alright, how does that feel?" Lorelai stood up and reached a hand out to help the other girl out. "If you have any more problems, put a little ice on it. The spell is 'ici' and it'll fix it right up. But if I've done my job, you could go dancing right now." She laughed, cocking her head to the side. "Next time, come to the hospital wing. I don't bite, I promise. I'm on the 2nd floor, right by the statue of a staff with a snake wrapped around it. You can't miss it."

Jonah was still looking for someone to talk. He'd spotted some of his other friends and classmates, but they all seemed to be talking with other people. He was so busy trying to figure out who he could join for a chat that he didn't notice the girl coming toward him until she ran into him. He stared in surprise at the younger girl with the long brown hair as she blushed and stammered.
Jonah laughed. "That's okay," he said with his usual grin. "No harm done. You okay?  I'm Jonah, by the way. Nice to meet you."  He held out a hand for her to shake as he tried to place her face.  She was younger than him by several years.  He'd seen her around a little bit, like he'd seen most of the kids at Aurora, but because she was younger than him, he'd never talked to her.  No time like the present, though. Jonah was always up for making new friends. 

"That's the best I can do, I guess, unless you want me to try it again," Constance said. "Maybe if you get it in the wash tonight, you can get the rest of the stain out. Sorry I couldn't do better."

Ryder shrugged, "It's alright. At least it's better than it was. I'm not too worried about how I look anyway." He smoothed his shirt out and managed to get another cup of punch, this time without spilling it all over himself.

"It's okay. I got more." She held out her bowl, showing him her marshmallows. "I wish I knew who it was who made all that noise. I hope the professors find him and take points away from him. Somebody could've gotten hurt!"

He laughed, this girl seemed to have a slight edge of attitude. In the flickering firelight she looked cute, but she also looked familiar. But at the moment he couldn't place her name, "I don't think it's that serious. Just someone playing a prank. Probably one of the older students...You know how they can be." He grinned. The firelight played across her face and she turned just right and finally the name dawned on him. "You're Constance!" Ryder blurted out, "Sorry. We're in History of Magic together. I just didn't realize it was you...stinkin firelight. It's hard to see."

Trevor sighed in relief as the school nurse had Mariah’s knee fixed up in no time. He quietly thanked the nurse, then ended up blushing as Mariah thanked him for offering to go with her to the infirmary. He kicked a small rock at his feet away, embarrassed by her thanks. He shrugged his shoulders. “It was nothing,” he mumbled.

They sat together for a bit, silent but companionable. Then Mariah looked up at the sky and started gathering her things. She said goodbye to Trevor with a sweet smile on her face, and Trevor mumbled his own goodbye. As he watched her go, he was cursing himself in his head. He should’ve offered to walk her back or something. He was so stupid!

He stayed a while after Mariah left, staring at the fire, but the whole thing had lost its appeal. With a sigh, Trevor decided to just go. He made his way back to the castle, still thinking about Mariah. Maybe next time he saw her, he’d ask her to have lunch with him in the Great Hall or something…

Ivy looked out over the growing crowd at the bonfire. It was getting pretty late, but there was still a large crowd. She ran a hand through her newly straightened red hair (she was getting tired of being confused for the Headmistress), and straightened the lapels on her jacket, then walked into the fray. As she passed the fire she threw a handful of an herb mixture into the flames, making them jump high and coloring them purple. She heard a few students gasp and smiled in delight. She left the students twittering and joined the throng of professors.

Ivy was determined to try to pass off as being nicer than she has before, but to be honest, she'd only spent time with a handful of the school's staff. Of those who were present she smiled and said a quick hello, not wanting to disrupt their conversations. 

"Good evening," she said with a smile to no one in particular. She saw a couple of faces she didn't recognize, one being a scrumptious bundle of muscle that could pass for a university student with his babyface. "This bonfire was exactly what we all needed."



"Ugh! Stupid kids," Deryn grumbled in agreement. "It's alright. It's better than being stuck in the common room, and it's good for mingling and meeting new people." She looked around the crowd, as she said this, spying a face peeking in and out of the shadows, a face that made the trudgery of school totally worth it. She ran a hand through her straight brown hair, overly aware of her appearance now. 

"So, if you don't mind," she began, speaking to Jocelyn while still watching Peyton as he skirted the populated areas, "what makes a senior transfer to a new place in her last year of high school? Wouldn't you want to just finish where you where you were?" A voice in her head fussed that it may have been too personal of a question, but she was the kind who just blurted out what she was thinking- most of the time.



Merry's face turned solemn, and she nodded. She didn't want to say anything; Thomas was easy to spook when it came to anything personal, and she'd been trying not to needle him about what had happened back in New Zealand, so this was a much-welcomed revelation. "Anytime you need my ear, you know where to find me."


Merry felt the weight lift from her shoulders. "Oh thank you thank you thank you!" she cried, rushing into a hug that she knew looked unprofessional (but almost everyone there knew they were good friends). She squeezed him tight, until a voice she hadn't heard in a while spoke up.


"Well! Christian Shade! I was wondering what it would take to get you back on Aurora property. How's your shop?"

"Nice to meet you, Riley," Jonah said, shaking her hand. He felt it shaking, and her face was turning red. She said she was fine, though. Maybe she was just shy.
"Yeah," Jonah said. "It's a nice break from classes and everything. I hope we do more stuff like this. I mean, Quidditch games are fun, but there's gotta be more than just Quidditch sometimes, you know?" He laughed a bit. "I heard something about a ball around Christmastime, maybe."  

---

Ben listened as Esme described her joy in teaching music. How nice to find someone else passionate about their subject area!
"I'm the same way," Ben said, laughing slightly. "Don't get me started on history--I'll talk your ear off."

Professor Skye lowered her voice and explained who the two newcomers were.  Ben smiled gratefully. "Thank you," he said softly. "I wasn't sure how to ask." He tried to commit both men's faces and names to memory. Christian Shade and Thomas Raines.  He'd try to introduce himself later, if he got a chance, but it was nice to have someone tell him now. It might help to keep those names in his head.

Speaking of remembering names--he turned as the fire flared purple and spotted Professor Hawthorne joining the group of professors. He smiled at her, pleased that he'd remembered who she was. It helped that she'd walked with him the other night and helped him find his way back to his quarters. Spending a bit of time with someone always helped to make someone's name stick for him. "Good evening, Professor Hawthorne." 

---

Constance had just bitten into another marshmallow when he said the word dancing. She swallowed a bit too quickly and coughed for a moment. "Dancing?" she repeated once she could breathe. Had he just tried to ask her to dance? No, that was silly. Boys didn't ask her to dance. Other than AJ Shay, parading through the common room without a shirt, boys never tried to do anything but talk to Constance. (AJ probably wasn't trying anything either. She didn't think he liked her much, after the thing with his dog.) Ryder was just making an observation. There was no reason for her face to be turning red again. She was lucky she'd almost choked on that marshmallow. It meant she couldn't giggle. She ate another one, just so she didn't have to come up with something to say.

Professor Hawthorne walked by the fire and threw something onto it, causing the flames to turn bright purple. That was something to talk about. "Wow! Did you see that?" 

---

Hazel wasn't quite ready for the topic change. She'd been looking over at Professor Skye (with an E) and Professor Morrow, who did indeed seem to be getting along. She took a moment to readjust and figure out what Arria was talking about now. That was Professor Skye over there, but there was another one. She'd seen the name S. Skye on the list of courses being offered that semester, next to Divination.

"I think I saw her at the opening feast," she said to Arria, "but I'm not taking her class, so I haven't really met her. Have you?" She paused, thinking about the class list again. "There are a lot of new professors this year. I wonder why."